A generous donation from the Hans Rasmus Astrup Foundation has enabled the Norwegian Institute in Rome to award a prize annually to an outstanding student work submitted to Norwegian universities within the Institute's fields of research. This year's prize ceremony took place in Oslo, 19. March. The nominees were:
- Aksel Teigen Breistrand (archeology, University of Bergen)
- Alexandra Sten Jørgensen (architectural history, Oslo School of Architecture and Design)
- Erlend Østrem Myklebust (Latin, University of Oslo)
- Laura Gutierrez Myran (history of religions, University of Bergen)
- Anna Mikaela Platander (intellectual history, University of Oslo)
Rolf Johan Ringdal from the Hans Rasmus Astrup Foundation announced the Latinist Erlend Østrem Myklebust as this year's winner. Myklebust had been selected by an interdisciplinary jury, and he will receive NOK 8,000 as well as a return trip to Rome and accommodation for a one-month research stay at the Institute. The purpose of the stay will be to process the winning work for publication and present it at the Director's seminar during his stay at the Institute.
Myklebust was awarded the prize for his master's thesis "Voyage to the Otherworld". The thesis explores the relationship between Navigatio Sancti Brendani (St Brendan's voyage) and Immram Maíle Dúin (Màel Dúin's voyage) through a comparative analysis of structure, episodes and narratives. Myklebust shows how the literary heritage of ancient Rome was reused in cultural performances in medieval Ireland, combining a thorough knowledge of classical and medieval Latin with a similar knowledge of Old Irish and Middle Irish. The work demonstrates scholarly philological expertise and creativity at a very high level, and Myklebust has an unusual ability to combine perspectives across disciplines.
"I plan to visit Rome's many libraries and archives during my stay at the Institute to further investigate the textual relationships between the sources I study," says the award winner. He is convinced that his stay will be a great inspiration both for this work and for future projects.
The Institute looks very much forward to welcoming him in Rome!